The site has a section for establishing links with overseas schools, and also contains a curriculum and lesson plan area. Select Juniors 7-11, then In the News. This lesson plan helps pupils to realise that the same news can be reported in different ways. They look at different newspapers and consider the sources and content.

There are two aspects to this Guardian resource. The first is a computer application that allows the user to create a newspaper. The second is a set of topic packs, which can be used for research towards the production of a newspaper. A free interactive demonstration is available. It is possible to experiment with a range of formats and writing styles.

The literacy section contains two particularly useful resources: Alliteration in Headlines, and Winter Holiday News, a template in which pupils can recount the details of a holiday in the style of a newspaper.

The Newspaper is aimed at children aged eight to 14. The staffroom section contains some ideas for educational use of the paper, including the development of a journalistic style of writing.

The book

Saving Finnegan

by Sally Grindley

Bloomsbury. Price £5.99. Age 9-11yrs

Holly wakes early one morning to discover, on the beach near her island home, a stranded whale. She befriends the whale, but when the incoming tide fails to refloat it, its tragic fate is sealed. Seeking consolation, Holly and her fellow islanders mount a campaign to keep the skeleton on the island as both a memorial and a tourist attraction. However, the officious local councillor and the distant mainland bureaucrats have other ideas. The ensuing arguments raise wide-ranging political and ethical issues: the role of local government, the rights of animals and the importance of tourism are all questioned in a series of lively debates. But though the themes are large, they are acted out upon a pleasingly small stage. Everyday island life continues, its preoccupations mirroring the issues at stake in the wider debate, whether in the squabbles and friendships of the islanders, the movingly portrayed illness of Holly's much-loved dog, or the excitement of plans for the annual ceilidh. Holly herself is an immensely likeable heroine who will draw readers into this absorbing and enjoyable book.